If you’re looking for languages similar to Uzbek, try out some of the Turkic languages. These include Turkish, Azerbaijani, and Turkmen.
They share a lot of similarities with Uzbek, including their grammar and vocabulary. In this article, we will share ten languages similar to Uzbek.
10 Languages Similar To Uzbek – Pick What Suits You!
Uzbek is the official language of Uzbekistan and is one of the Turkic languages. Approximately 32 million people speak it in Uzbekistan and elsewhere in Central Asia.
With that number, this is one of Central Asia’s most widely spoken languages.
Uzbek is a good choice for those who want to learn a Turkic language but do not want to tackle one of the more challenging languages like Turkish or Azeri.
Do you also want to learn a language that is similar to Uzbek?
If you’re considering learning Uzbek, a few other languages may be more suited to your needs and goals.
Some languages similar to Uzbek include Tajik, Turkmen, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and Uyghur.
These languages are all part of the Turkic language family. This means they share many features in common.
If you already know Uzbek, learning any of these languages will be easier. This is because there are many similarities in grammar and vocabulary.
In addition, if you know any of these languages, it will be easier to pick up Uzbek.
Now, we will discuss the similarities between Uzbek and several other languages.
1. Tajik:
Tajik is the national language of Tajikistan. It is also spoken in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan.
Tajik is similar to Persian, another major language spoken in Central Asia. So, knowing this means you know Persian also to some extent.
Moreover, Tajik is the closest relative of Uzbek, sharing over 60% of its vocabulary.
For instance, the Uzbek words for ‘book’, ‘house’, and ‘tree’ are ‘kitob’, ‘kocha’ and ‘daraxt’. While in Tajik, these same words are ‘ketob’, ‘kacha’, and ‘derazh’.
Another similarity between Uzbek and Tajik is that both languages have a Cyrillic alphabet .
Further, both languages have influences from Russian and Turkic languages. So, if you know any of these languages, learning Uzbek or Tajik will be a piece of cake for you!
2. Turkmen:
Turkmen is the national language of Turkmenistan. It is also spoken in parts of Iran, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan.
If we go for similarities, Turkmen is also quite similar to Uzbek. For example, the words for ‘tree’ in both languages are ‘agajy’.
Like Uzbek and Tajik, Turkmen is also written in Cyrillic script.
Moreover, both are mutually intelligible languages. This means people who speak Turkmen can also easily understand Uzbek and Tajik.
Grammar-wise, too, both languages have a lot in common. For instance, they use the same word order and have almost identical pronouns.
So, you will only need to put in a little effort to learn Turkmen if you know Uzbek or Tajik.
3. Azerbaijani:
People speak Azerbaijani in Azerbaijan as their first language. Also, you will hear this in some parts of Iran, Georgia, Russia, and Turkey. Thus, it is quite similar to Uzbek.
According to Ethnologue, about 70% of the vocabulary in Azerbaijani is from Turkic languages, including Uzbek.
For example, the word for ‘book’ in Azerbaijani is ‘kitab’, almost the same as the Uzbek word ‘kitob’.
Furthermore, both languages share many common features in their grammar and syntax. For example, Uzbek and Azerbaijani use the subject-object-verb word order.
Another similarity is that they both have a lot of loanwords from Persian. For instance, some common words are ‘dost’ (friend), ‘sevgi’ (love), and ‘tabrik’ (congratulations).
This s because they were once part of the Persian Empire. Thus, many Persian words have entered over the centuries.
4. Kyrgyz:
The Kyrgyz language is the national language of Kyrgyzstan. It uses Cyrillic script, like Uzbek and Tajik.
Further, vowel harmony is also present in Kyrgyz, as in Uzbek. This means that words can have different forms depending on the vowel sound at the end of the word.
In the case of vocabulary, Kyrgyz shares around 50% with Uzbek. For instance, words likeb(fire), ‘suu’ (water), and ‘tamasha’ (show) are the same in both languages.
In addition, Kyrgyz’s writing style is the same as Uzbek’s. Both languages Move from right to left in writing.
Finally, the grammar of Kyrgyz is more similar to Uzbek as compared to other languages.
For example, the use of ‘ga’, ‘ni’, and ‘lar’ at the end of sentences in both languages is common.
Thus, we can say that Kyrgyz is quite similar to the Uzbek language in various aspects.
5. Tartar:
The Tatar language is also quite similar to Uzbek in various aspects. Like, both languages use the Cyrillic alphabet. In addition, the grammar of both languages is also quite similar.
For instance, both languages use postpositions instead of prepositions.
Furthermore, articles are also not used in the Tartar language, which is again quite the same as Uzbek. There is no gender distinction in the Tartar language as well.
This means there is no need to change the word depending on whether it refers to a male or female. As we do in English or other languages,
For instance, the word for “doctor” in Tartar is “tabib” regardless of gender.
Overall, due to their similarities, it is easy for speakers of one language to learn the other.
6. Turkish:
Turkish is another language that is similar to Uzbek. Like Tartar, Turkish also uses postpositions instead of prepositions.
Furthermore, Turkish does not have articles either. Again, this makes it easier for speakers of Uzbek to learn Turkish.
Additionally, Turkish has grammatical gender. But unlike Uzbek, there are no separate words for “he” and “she”.
Instead, the same word, “o” is used for male and female subjects.
There are also several loanwords from Persian and Arabic in Turkish. This makes it easier for speakers of Uzbek to understand Turkish.
For example, the word for “book” in Turkish is “kitap” which comes from the Persian word “ketab”.
The same word in Uzbek is “Kitob”. So, both are quite close.
7. Kazakh:
Kazakh is the language of Kazakhstan and is closely related to Uzbek. Some people even believe that Kazakh is really just a dialect of Uzbek.
Both languages use the same Cyrillic alphabet and have some similar grammar rules. For instance, both languages use the accusative case for indirect objects.
This means the person or thing affected by the verb’s action comes after the verb.
In English, we would say, “I gave a book to him”. But in Kazakh and Uzbek, it would be “Kitabti on berdim” and “Men kitobni Unga berdim” meaning “A book I gave him”.
You will also notice that both have many loanwords from Russian and Turkic languages.
Some words, such as “кош” (qosh) for “sheep” are the same in both languages. So, if you know Uzbek, learning Kazakh will be a breeze!
8. Uyghur:
Uyghur is a Turkic language spoken in Xinjiang, China. It is very similar to Uzbek, with about 80% of the vocabulary shared between the two languages.
Uyghur uses the Arabic script, which may look unfamiliar at first glance.
However, once you know the basic rules of Arabic, picking up Uyghur will be much easier.
Like Uzbek, Uyghur is an SOV (subject-object-verb) language. This means that the verb always comes at the end of the sentence.
For example, “Men seni sevindim” (I am happy to see you) would be “Siz meni körüsingiz” in Uyghur.
Also, many words are from Persian and Arabic. For example, “book” in Uyghur is “Qutub” and “kitob” in Uzbek. Both are from the Arabic word for “book”, “Kitab”.
So, if you know some Persian or Arabic, you will have an easier time understanding Uyghur.
9. Gagauz:
Another language in the list of languages similar to Uzbek is Gagauz. The Gagauz, Turkic-speaking Christians living in Ukraine and Russia, used to speak this.
Gagauz and Uzbek are quite similar. Like Uzbek, it has influences from Russian and Turkish.
Many words are common between the two languages, such as “ev” (house), “kün” (day), and “ay” (month).
Moreover, the grammar of Gagauz is also similar to that of Uzbek. For example, both languages have the same word order and use the same grammatical cases.
Grammatical cases show the role of a noun in a sentence. These two languages share many cases, like the nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive.
This makes Gagauz a good choice for those who want to learn Uzbek.
10. Chuvash:
Chuvash is another Turkic language that is similar to Uzbek. It exists in the Chuvash Republic of Russia.
You can find several common points between Chuvash and Uzbek. Like, both languages have the same word order. This show the importance of word order in these languages.
Also, vocabulary items in Chuvash are often close to their Uzbek counterparts.
For example, the Chuvash word for “house” is “ev”, which is very similar to the Uzbek word for “home”, which is “ev”.
Another similarity is using the suffix “-lar” to denote the plural. This is a feature of many languages in the Turkic family.
You can identify plurals in Chuvash by the suffix “-lar”, just as in Uzbek. This makes Chuvash a good choice for those who want to learn Uzbek.
Final Words:
The Uzbek language is one of the many languages spoken in Central Asia.
It is a Turkic language related to other languages such as Turkish, Azerbaijani, and Turkmen.
Furthermore, there is a long list of languages similar to Uzbek. For example, languages in the same family as Uzbek include Uyghur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and Tatar.
Also, Tajik, Chuvash, and Gagauz are some good languages to learn. Specifically, if you want to be able to communicate with Uzbek speakers.
So, what are you waiting for? Start learning one of these languages today!
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